Combination refrigerator



Oct. 25, 1966 G. D. JONES ETAL COMBINATION REFRIGERATOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 12, 1965 H 2 I /.o W a a Q Q U N 1 Q 8 Q Q a I M INVENTOR.

GARV D. IOU ES HAROLD A. NASON Oct. 25, 1966 JONES ETAL 3,280,583

COMBINATION REFRIGERATOR Filed May 12, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F'IG.2

I NVE NTOR.

GARY D. TOMES, HAROLD A. NAsoN & JOSEPH A. SHHER THEIR ATTORUE'Y 1966 e.D. JONES ETAL COMBINATION REFRIGERATOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 12,1965 INVENTORS GARY D, JONES, HAROLD A. M N

BYgyPH A. SH\ER THER ATTORQEH United States Patent Ofiice 3,280,583Patented Get. 25, 1966 3,289,583 CGMEINATIGN REFREGERATOR Gary D. Jones,Harold A. Nason, and Joseph A. Shier, Louisville, Ky., assignors toGeneral Electric Qompany, a corporation of New York Filed May 12, 1965,Ser. No. 455,231 3 Claims. (Cl. 62-285) The present invention relates toa combination refrigerator including a freezer compartment and a freshfood compartment and is more particularly concerned with a refrigeratorof this type in which the two compartments are cooled by means of aircirculated over an evaporator contained within a partition dividing thetwo compartments.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedcombination refrigerator including a liner forming the exterior walls ofboth compartments of the refrigerator and a new and improved partitionfor dividing the liner volume into a freezer compartment and a freshfood compartment and including an evaporator and air circulating meansfor cooling the two compartments.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination refrigeratorincluding a partition dividing the refrigerator cabinet into a lowerfresh food compartment and an upper freezer compartment, the partitionbeing arranged to house an evaporator and air circulating means forcooling the two compartments and being so constructed that the variousrefrigerating and control components contained therein can be readilyserviced.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination refrigeratorof simple and low cost construction.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds and the features of novelty whichcharacterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiment of the present invention,there is provided a combination refrigerator comprising a one-pieceliner having top, bottom and vertical rear and side walls defining astorage volume having an access opening at the front thereof. Ahorizontal partition spaced from the top and bottom walls of the linerdivides the interior of the liner into an upper freezer compartment anda lower fresh food compartment. The partition comprises a lower memberof sheet material secured to one or more of the vertical walls of theliner and adapted to form the top wall of the fresh food compartment. Aremovable body of rigid foamed plastic insulating material supported onthis lower member provides an insulating barrier between the twocompartments. This body includes wall portions defining a recessseparated by insulating portions of the body from the liner side andrear walls. A removable cover of foamed plastic insulating material incooperation with the recess forms an evaporator chamber for housing anevaporator. An upper.

member of sheet material which overlies the cover and which is removablysupported on the upper side and rear edges of the body forms the bottomwall of the freezer compartment. A fan including a frame that is moldedin and is supported by the rear wall portion of the body of insulatingmaterial positioned forwardly from the rear edge of the body providesmeans for circulating air from the two compartments through theevaporator chamber. The air circulating means also includes a firstpassage defined by a space between the front edges of the cover andupper member and the front wall portion of the body insulating materialfor conducting freezer air to the evaporator chamber, a second airpassage between the rear edge of the upper member and the rear edge ofthe body of insulating material for conveying cooled air to the freezercompartment, a third air passage extending through the lower member andthe front wall portion of the body of insulating material for conductingfresh food compartment air to the evaporator chamber, and a fourthpassage extending through the bottom portion of the insulating bodyrearwardly from the fan for conveying cooled air to that compartment. inaccordance with an additional feature of the invention, the bottomportion of the insulating body below the evaporator is of a concaveconfiguration or shape and a metal pan positioned thereon is designed toreceive defrost water from the evaporator, this water being drainedthrough a drain opening in the bottom wall portion of the insulatingbody onto a channel formed in the top surface of the lower member.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FiGURE 1 is a vertical side sectional view of a two temperaturerefrigerator embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along line 22 ofFIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view of certain portions of thepartition of FIGURE 2.

With reference to the drawings, there is illustrated one embodiment ofthe present invention in the form of a refrigerator comprising insulatedwalls including a onepiece liner 1 defining the total storage volumewithin the refrigerator and a horizontal partition 2 generally indicatedby the reference numeral 2 dividing this storage volume into an upperfreezer compartment 3 and a lower fresh food compartment 4. The accessopenings above and below the partition are respectively closed by afreezer compartment door 5 and a fresh food compartment door 6. Thepartition 2 is a unitary structure adapted to be positioned at anyvertical point within the liner 1 to divide the volume thereof intofreezer and fresh food compartments of any desired relative volumes.

A single evaporator 7 for refrigerating both of the compartments 3 and 4is contained within the partition 2 and this evaporator forms part of arefrigeration system including a compressor 3, a condenser 9, andsuitable flow restricting means (not shown) connected in closed seriesflow relationship to form the usual refrigerant circuit.

The partition 2 comprises a lower member of sheet material, such asenameled sheet steel, including vertically ex ending rear and sideflanges 11 and 12 by means of which the member 10 is suitably secured tothe rear wall 14 and the opposed side walls 15 of the liner 1. Themember 10 is substantially coextensive with the interior of the liner 1and forms the top wall of the fresh food compartment 4.

A body 16 of rigid foamed plastic insulating material, such as Styrofoamor a rigid polyurethane foam, preferably a fire-retardant foam, issupported on the lower mem ber 10. This body 16 is also substantiallycoextensive with the cross section of the liner so as to thermallyseparate or insulate the two compartments 3 and 4. If necessary anyspaces between this body and the liner 1 may be sealed by suitablesealing material 13. The body 16 is preformed to define a major portionof a chamber for housing an evaporator and for insulating the evaporatorfrom the fresh food compartment 4. More specifically the body 16includes a bottom wall 17, opposed side Walls 18, a rear wall 19 and afront wall 20 defining a recess for containing the evaporator 7. Aremovable cover 21 of foamed plastic insulating material covers most ofthe recess and is supported upon and extends between the side walls 18of the body 16, and an upper member 22 of sheet material such asenameled sheet steel is removably positioned over the cover 21 forms thebottom of the freezer compartment 3.

The insulating cover 21 and the upper sheet member 22 substantiallycovering the recess in the body 16 cooperate therewith to form anevaporator housing or chamber 24 1 for containing the evaporator 7 andseparating the evaporator from the two compartments 3 and 4.Specifically, the bottom wall 17 of the body 16 is formed to include aconcave portion 25 in the forward portion of the housing 24 and a metaldrain pan 26 supported on this concave portion 25 serves as means forcollecting condensate from the evaporator 7 during the defrostingthereof and also provides a base on which the evaporator 7 is directlysupported. An opening 27 in the drain pan 26 and an opening 28v in thebottom wall 17 of the body 16 provides a passage for the draining of thedefrost water into a channel 29 provided in the upper surface of thelower member 10, the channel being so constructed that the defrost watercollecting therein is conducted rearwardly and discharged onto the rearwall 14 of the liner. This water flows downwardly along the liner andout of the lower compartment 4 through the drain 30 into a suitablecontainer (not shown) in the machinery compartment where it isevaporated by the heat from the compressor 8 and the condenser 9.

By means of a motor driven fan generally indicated by the numeral 32 andsuitable air passages or ducts, air from the two compartments 3 and 4 ispassed in cooling relationship with the evaporator 7 and the cooled orrefrigerated air returned to the two compartments. The fan 32 includes asupporting frame 33 supported by and molded into the rear wall 19 of thebody 16 in such a manner that the fan motor 34 is positioned within thechamber 24 while the air withdrawn from the chamber by the fan 32 isdischarged into a space 35 between the rear wall 19 and the rear edge 36of the body 16.

To this end the composite partition 2 is formed to include or definesuitable air passages connecting the chamber 24 with the compartments 3and 4. The air passages forming. part of the unitary partition 2 aredesigned to connect the two compartments 3 and 4 to the evaporatorchamber 24 in such a manner that the fan 32 will circulate air from thetwo compartments through the evaporator chamber 24 and supply cooled airto the compartments. A first passage 40 in the upper front portion ofthe partition 2 formed by a spacing of the front edge 41 of the cover 21and the front edge 42 of the upper member 22 from the upper surface ofthe front wall portion 20 connects the front portion of freezercompartment 3 to the forward portion of chamber 24 for the flow of airfrom compartment 3 into the chamber 24. This passage 40, extendingsubstantially the entire width of the partition 2, is provided with adecorative grille structure 45 forming part of a plastic mullion 46enclosing the front wall portion 20 and forming a sealing surface forthe, adjacent portions of the upper and lower freezer and fresh foodcompartment doors and 6.

r A portion of the rear edge of the upper member 22 includes a recessrearwardly from the fan 32 which defines the air passage 48 forconducting refrigerated air from the fan to the freezer compartment 3.Any suitable means may be provided for distributing the air thussupplied to the freezer compartment to the various portions thereof. Onesuch means comprises a tunnel member 49 provided with a plurality ofside louvers 50 and front louvers 51 overlying the passage 48 andadapted to house one or more freezing trays 52.

Air from the fresh food compartment 4 is conducted to the evaporatorchamber 24 through a plurality of spaced openings 55 in and adjacent theforward edge of the lower member and communicating passages 56in thefront wall portion of the body 16. As is illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3of the drawing, these passages 56 extend upwardly and then rearwardlythrough the wall portion 20 so that the fresh foodair entering theevaporator chamber 24 is directed toward the evaporator and is preventedfrom coming into contact with the relatively cool louvers 45 within thepassage 40 leading from the freezer compartment 3 thereby avoiding frostaccumulation adjacent these passages.

Refrigerated or cooled air withdrawn from the chamber 24 by the fan 32is conducted to the fresh food compartment 4 through a passage 58 in thebottom of the body 16 communicating with the space 35 rearwardly of thefan 32 and a communicating passage 59 in the rear portion of the bottommember 10.

As is more clearly shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawing, 7

the evaporator 7 is positioned within chamber 24 by means of aprojection 61 formed on one of the side walls 18 and extending betweentwo adjacent passes 62 and 63 of the evaporator on one side thereofwhile the opposite side of the evaporator is positioned within a recess64 including wall portions designed to receive two adjacent end turns65.

The refrigerant lines 66 connecting the evaporator to the compressor andcondenser are channeled through a groove 67 in the top portion of theside wall 18 while additional grooves generally indicated by the numeral68 are provided for. receiving the electrical connections to the variouscontrol and other electrically operated components contained within thepartition 2. More specifically, such leads include leads to a radiantheater defrost element 69 extending across the width of the evapo-.

rator in a position to warm all areas of the evaporator and also thedrain pan 26 to defrost temperatures when defrosting is required, adefrost terminating thermostat 70 adapted to terminate defrost operationof the heater 69 when the pan 26 is up to defrost temperatures and afuse 71 designed to interrupt the operation of the heater in the eventof abnormal temperatures resulting, for example, from a defrostterminationfailure. The leads for connecting the fan to a source ofpower also extend through some of the channel or groove portions 68..

A slot 75 in the bottomof wall portion 20 adapted to receive theupturnedflange on the forward end of the lower member 10, serves toproperly position the member 16 on the member.

From the above description, it will be seen that there has been provideda partition for separating the volume within a single-liner of ahousehold refrigerator into an upper freezer compartment and a lowerfresh food com partment. It includes an insulating evaporator housingfor containing the evaporator, fan and certain other components of therefrigerator and is so designed that these components can bequicklyreached for servicing. The housing not only provides thermal insulationbetween the two compartments but also is so constructed as to provide anair seal such that the compartments can be operated satisfactorily atdifferent temperatures. In addition, the housing includes most of theair ducts or passages providing for the intake, mixing, cooling, anddis-, charge of both fresh food and freezer air. Easy access to theevaporator housing and its contents is obtained simply by removing theupper member 22 and the foam cover 21 working through the access openingto the freezer compartment 3. The particular type of thermal insulationemployed for the body 16 will depend upon the insulation requirements.In general a foamed polystyrene provides suflicient thermal insulationalthough if desired all or certain portions of the body 16 may becomposed of a polyurethane foam in which the foam cells are filled witha gas having a higher insulating value than air. Also some or all of thesurface areas of the body 16 may be surfaced with metal foil which willact as a mold release during the molding of the body, as a heatreflector, a temperature shield and also as a moisture barrier toprevent moisture from being absorbed by the foam body.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of thepresent invention it will be understood that it is not limited theretoand is intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A refrigerator comprising a liner having top, bottom and verticalrear and opposed side walls defining a storage volume having an accessopening at the front thereof,

a horizontal partition spaced from the top and bottom walls of saidliner dividing the interior of said volume into an upper freezercompartment and a lower fresh food compartment,

said partition comprising:

a lower member of sheet material mounted on said vertical walls andforming the top wall of said fresh food compartment and'including arearwardly sloping channel in the upper surface thereof,

a body of rigid foamed plastic insulating material supported on saidlower member substantially coextensive with the cross section of saidliner and including bottom, front, rear and spaced side wall portionsdefining a recess in said body, said rear wall portion being spaced fromthe rear edge of said body,

a removable cover of foamed plastic insulating material covering thefront portion of said recess and supported on the opposed side wallportions of said body,

an upper member of sheet material overlying said cover, removablysupported on the upper side and rear edges of said body and forming thebottom wall of said freezer compartment,

an evaporator supported on said bottom wall portion within the forwardportion of said recess and beneath said cover,

said bottom wall portion including a concave area below said evaporator,

a metal drain pan in said concave area,

a drain opening in said pan and said bottom wall portion for drainingdefrost water from said evaporator into said channel in said lowermember,

a fan including a supporting frame,

said frame being molded in and supported by the rear wall portion ofsaid body so that said fan discharges air into the space between saidrear Wall portion and the rear edge of said body,

the upper portion of said front wall portion of said body being spacedfrom the front edges of said cover and said upper member to form a firstpassage connecting said freezer compartment to said recess,

the rear edge of said upper member being spaced from the rear edge ofsaid body to provide a second air passage for conducting air from saidfan to said freezer compartment,

a third air passage in said lower member and said body extendingupwardly and rearwardly through the front wall portion of said body forthe passage of air from said fresh food compartment to said recess,

a fourth passage in the bottom portion of said body rearwardly from saidfan and a cooperating opening in said lower member interconnecting saidfan discharge with said fresh food compartment.

2. A refrigerator comprising a one-piece liner having top, bottom andvertical rear and opposed side walls defining a storage volume having anaccess opening at the front thereof,

a horizontal partition spaced from the top and bottom Walls of saidliner dividing the interior of said volume into an upper freezercompartment and a lower fresh food compartment,

said partition comprising:

a lower member of sheet material mounted on said vertical walls andforming the top wall of said fresh food compartment,

a body of rigid foamed plastic insulating material supported on saidlower member substantially coextensive with the cross section of saidliner and including bottom, front, rear and spaced side wall portionsdefining a recess in said body, said rear wall portion being spaced fromthe rear edge of said body,

a removable cover of foamed plastic insulating material covering thefront portion of said recess and supported on the opposed side wallportions of said body,

an upper member of sheet material overlying said cover, removablysupported on the upper side and rear edges of said body and forming thebottom wall of said freezer compartment,

an evaporator supported on said bottom wall portion within the forwardportion of said recess and beneath said cover,

a fan including a frame,

said frame being molded in and supported by the rear wall portion ofsaid body so that said fan discharges air into the space between saidrear wall portion and the rear edge of said body,

the upper portion of said front wall portion of said body being spacedfrom the front edges of said cover and said upper member to form a firstpassage connecting said freezer compartment to said recess,

the rear edge of said upper member being spaced from the rear edge ofsaid body to provide a second air passage for conducting the air fromsaid fan to said freezer compartment,

a third air passage in said lower member and said body extendingupwardly and rearwardly through the front wall portion of said body forthe passage of air from said fresh food compartment to said recess,

a fourth passage in the bottom portion of said body rearwardly from saidfan and a cooperating opening in said lower member interconnecting saidfan dis charge with said fresh food compartment.

3. A refrigerator comprising a one-piece liner having front thereof,

a horizontal partition spaced from the top and bottom walls of saidinner dividing the interior of said volume into an upper freezercompartment and a lower fresh food compartment,

said partition comprising:

a lower member of sheet material mounted on said vertical walls andforming the top wall of said fresh food compartment and including arearwardly sloping channel in the upper surface thereof,

a body of rigid foamed plastic insulating material supported on saidlower member substantially coextensive with the cross section of saidliner and including bottom, front, rear and spaced side wall portionsdefining a recess in said body, said rear wall portion being spaced fromthe rear edge of said body,

a removable cover of foamed plastic insulating material covering thefront portion of said recess and supported on the opposed side wallportions of said body,

an upper member of sheet material overlying said cover, removablysupported on the upper side and rear edges of said body and forming thebottom wall of said freezer compartment,

an evaporator supported on said bottom wall portion Within the forwardportion of said recess and beneath said cover,

said bottom wall portion including a concave area below said evaporator,

a metal drain pan in said concave area,

a drain opening in said pan and said bottom wall portion for drainingdefrost water from said evaporator into said channel in said lowermember,

a fan including a frame supported by the rear wall portion of said bodyso that said fan discharges air 7 8 into the space between said rearWall portion and References Cited by the Examiner the rear edge ofsaidbody, said partition including a first passage connecting saidUNITED STATES PATENTS freezer compartment to said recess, a second air3,063,253 11/1962 Dickson et a1 62419 X passage for conducting air fromsaid fan to said 5 freezer compartment, a third air passage in saidReferences Cited by the Applicant lower member and said body extendingupwardly v and rearwardly through the front wall portion of UNITEDSTATES PATENTS said body for the passage of air from said fresh3,050,961 8/1962 Mann et al.

food compartments to said recess, and a fourth pas- 10 3,090,209 5/ 1963Hubacker. sage in the bottom portion of said body rearwardly 3,093,9816/1963 OGrady.

from said fan and a cooperating opening in said 3,105,364 10/1963OConnell, lower member interconnecting said fan discharge 3,107,50210/1963 Herndon et a1. with said fresh food compartment, 3,110,15811/1963 Kuhn et a1.

7 said first and third passages respectively directing air 15 streamstherefrom in parallel paths towards said ROBERT A O,LEARY PrimaryExaminer evaporator thereby preventing frost accumulation adjacent theoutlet ends of said first and third pas- N. R. WILSON,Assislant'Examiner.

sages due to mingling of said air streams.

1. A REFRIGERATOR COMPRISING A LINER HAVING TOP, BOTTOM AND VERTICALREAR AND OPPOSED SIDE WALLS DEFINING A STORAGE VOLUME HAVING AN ACCESSOPENING AT THE FRONT THEREOF, A HORIZONTAL PARTITION SPACED FROM THE TOPAND BOTTOM WALLS OF SAID LINER DIVIDING THE INTERIOR OF SAID VOLUME INTOAN UPPER FREEZER COMPARTMENT AND A LOWER FRESH FOOD COMPARTMENT, SAIDPARTITION COMPRISING: A LOWER MEMBER OF SHEET MATERIAL MOUNTED ON SAIDVERTICAL WALLS AND FORMING THE TOP WALL OF SAID FRESH FOOD COMPARTMENTAND INCLUDING A REARWARDLY SLOPING CHANNEL IN THE UPPER SURFACE THEREOF,A BODY OF RIGID FOAMED PLASTIC INSULATING MATERIAL SUPPORTED ON SAIDLOWER MEMBER SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE WITH THE CROSS SECTION OF SAIDLINER AND INCLUDING BOTTOM, FRONT, REAR AND SPACED SIDE WALL PORTIONSDEFINING A RECESS IN SAID BODY, SAID REAR WALL PORTION BEING SPACED FROMTHE REAR EDGE OF SAID BODY, A REMOVABLE COVER OF FOAMED PLASTICINSULATING MATERIAL COVERING THE FRONT PORTION OF SAID RECESS ANDSUPPORTED ON THE OPPOSED SIDE WALL PORTIONS OF SAID BODY, AN UPPERMEMBER OF SHEET MATERIAL OVERLYING SAID COVER, REMOVABLY SUPPORTED ONTHE UPPER SIDE AND REAR EDGES OF SAID BODY AND FORMING THE BOTTOM WALLOF SAID FREEZER COMPARTMENT, AN EVAPORATOR SUPPORTED ON SAID BOTTOM WALLPORTION WITHIN THE FORWARD PORTION OF SAID RECESS AND BENEATH SAIDCOVER, SAID BOTTOM WALL PORTION INCLUDING A CONCAVE AREA BELOW SAIDEVAPORATOR, A METAL DRAIN PAN IN SAID CONCAVE AREA, A DRAIN OPENING INSAID PAN AND SAID BOTTOM WALL PORTION FOR DRAINING DEFROST WATER FROMSAID EVAPORATOR INTO SAID CHANNEL IN SAID LOWER MEMBER, A FAN INCLUDINGA SUPPORTING FRAME, SAID FRAME BEING MOLDED IN AND SUPPORTED BY THE REARWALL PORTION OF SAID BODY SO THAT SAID FAN DISCHARGES AIR INTO THE SPACEBETWEEN SAID REAR WALL PORTION AND THE REAR EDGE OF SAID BODY,